The Netherlands strongly supports a peace agreement between Israel and the
Palestinians on the basis of a two state solution based on the borders of ’67,
whereby the state of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous and
viable state of Palestine will be living side by side in peace and security.
Such an agreement would bring a much needed end to the conflict between
Palestinians and Israelis, and would also benefit the stability and prosperity
in the region as a whole. The current status quo is untenable.

The Palestinian aspiration as expressed in the resolution under
consideration is legitimate and the Netherlands supports Palestinian efforts to
achieve statehood. However we would have preferred the resolution to be
postponed, as its adoption at this moment could complicate efforts to resume
direct negotiations between the parties. For this reason the Netherlands has
decided to abstain.

The Netherlands calls for an urgent resumption of negotiations leading to an
end to the conflict through a comprehensive peace agreement on the basis of the
relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, the Madrid principles including land
for peace, the Roadmap and the agreements previously reached by the parties and
the Arab Peace Initiative. The Netherlands stands ready to support these
negotiations and will continue to support both Israel and the Palestinians
bilaterally, taking into careful account the aspirations of the Palestinians for
statehood and those of Israelis for security. We urge both sides to take the
necessary steps to make progress toward a final peace agreement, and refrain
from actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution. In particular
it calls on Israel to end all settlement activities. The Netherlands urges the
international community, in particular the Quartet, to offer its full support to
achieve a comprehensive peace agreement.